Firefighters and other personnel must often utilize air breathing apparatus when addressing situations in structures. For example, due to smoke in a building, firefighters must don breathing equipment which includes air tanks and masks.
In large structures, including high-rises, this is problem. In particular, by the time a firefighter travels deep into the structure, their air tank(s) may be substantially empty. As such, air tanks must be carried into the building to create one or more staging areas for firefighters to replace empty tanks. This is labor intensive and time consuming, reducing the effort which available manpower can devote to the fire.
Recently, breathing air replenishment systems have been developed. The existing systems have a number of drawbacks. These drawbacks relate to system complexity and reliability. For example, one proposed system relies upon an “in-series” fill station structure. In the event of a break in the system, however, air delivery may be interrupted throughout the entire building. This might occur in the event of an explosion or other damage to the structure. In addition, the systems generally require complex fill stations at various points in the structure. This greatly increases the cost of installation of the system.
It is desired to provide a simple and reliable in-structure air breathing apparatus replenishment system.